Cork ribbon and method of making the same



192 Oct 7 H. F. BUSCH CORK RIBBON AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed July 1926 INVENTOR Patented 0a. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES HERMAN F. BOSCH, 0P MILLVALE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIL- OORK RIBBON AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Application filed July 1,

Thisinvention relates to cork ribbon and method of making the same, and is artlcularly adapted for use in the manu acture of artificial cork ribbon in relatively long len hs.

'eretofore short strips of artificlal cork have been made by skiving strips from the face of a slab of artificial cork. By this method the lengths of the strips have been limited to the lengths of the standard cork slabs from which theyare cut, the slabs being usually about 36 inches long.

I rovide a method of manufacturing artificial cork ribbon wherein substantlally the entire volume of a block of artificial cork may be cut into a continuous rlbbon. This is accomplished by cutting the cork llbbon from the eripher of a disk or clrcular block of arti cial cor The general type of veneer machine which is preferably employed to do this work is illustrated and described in Busch Patent No. 1,12 2,070 of December 22, 1914, although certaln IIlOdlfications of the machine may be desirable to better suit this particular class of w0rk.

My cork ribbon in its long lengths'ls particularly suitable for feeding to the automatic machines which cut disks therefrom and insert them as liners or washers 1n .crown bottle seals and caps for collapsible tubes. The ribbon, because of its uniform structure and thickness, is part cularly adapted for making air-tight packing, such as used in player pianos. It may also be used for various other purposes, such as the packing employed between the body parts of automobiles.

I preferably provide that the artificial cork ribbon has a uniform grain structure throughout its length. It is desirable that thefiattened granules in the artificial cork be disposed at an angle. preferably normal, to the surface of the rib on. Rrbbon having the granules disposed in this manner can be cut to a more uniform thickness. Moreover, since the granules are cut transversely, there is no tendency for them to pufi up or scrape off.

, Referring to the accompa illustrating certain preferr of my invention,

Figure 1 is a dlagrammatlc plan view ing drawings, embodiments 1926. Serial No. 115,927. 7

showing the method of cutting the ribbon;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Figure 1; 7

gigure 3'shows a roll of the cork ribbon; an

Figure 4 is a perspective detail view of a piece of the ribbon showing the preferred grain structure.

In Fi ure 1, there is shown an artificial cork dis 2 secured to a mandrel 3 by suitable clamping washers 4 and nuts 5. A rotary knife 6 substantially tan entiall engaglng the disk 2 cuts a ribbon there m. The circular knife 6 is carried by a shaft 8 which is suitably rotated by a source of power, not shown,

In the preferred method of making the ribbon, a standard slab of compressed arti ficial cork of 24 x 36 x 2 inches is first formed.

It is well known in this art that compressed artificial cork is made by compressmg and setting under heat a mass consisting of granulated cork and an elastic binder. The granulated cork is screened to the desired fineness of granules, the size of the granules being dependent somewhat upon 7 the use to which the material is to be put. Usually in making artificial cork, the granules are not more than about inches in diameter and will pass through a screen having 11 meshes to the inch. Preferably.

none of the particles are fine enough to pass through a screen having 40 meshes to the inch. Usually the bulk of the material will pass through a 16 mesh and over a 28 mesh screen. The granulated cork is mixed with the binder, usually glycerine' and gelatine containin a hardener such as formaldehyde. A ter the materials are mixed, they are pressed in the mold to a slab, the volume being reduced to about one-eighth of the initial volume of the uncompressed mixture. During this com ression the individual granules or partic es of cork are flattened into small pancake shaped anules, the planes of compression of w ich lie, of course, normal to the direction of the comression of the cork. The slabs contained in the molds are confined under pressure and subjected to the baking operations usually employed in the manufacture of artificial cork. Artificial cork slabs and their manufacture are well known in this artand do not need to be describedin greater detail. Y

The slab of compressed.artificial cork is then cut lengthwise into two slabs of 12x 36 inches. These slabs are then split to a thickness equal to the desired width of the ribbon, sa inch. The slabs inch thick are t en cut into 12 inch squares. and

these squares are cut into disks to be placed 1 inthe ribbon cutting' machine. Other methods of forming the disks may be employed, but the procedure outlined above gives good results.

I. preferably provide that the standard artificial cork slab'be made with the planes of compression substantially parallel to the faces t ereof, in order that the flattened granules comprising the slab will be dis--v posed at'a substantial angle to the edges of the slab, anii henceat a substantial angle to the'edges of the disks formed from the slab.

Ribbon cut from the periphery of a disk formed this way has a substantially uniform grain structure'throughoutits length, and

Inasmuch as the flattened granules are cut transversely, the thickness of the ribbon may be determined accurately. Furthermore, the flattened granules will not subsequently tend to pufi' up or scale off. In some arts, forexample the manufacture of pneumatic player pianos, it is highly desirable that the air packing ,material be of uniform structure and thickness.

Figure 3 shows, to reduced scale,a roll of artificial cork ribbon made according to my invention. The advantages of ribbon in this form over the strips heretofore suppliedin relati'velyshort lengths are particularly pronounced when the ribbon is supplied to automatic machines. For such uses, it is of great advantage to have the cork ribbon sup lied in considerable length, and it is desirable that the material be uniform. Figure 4 shows, to enlarged scale, a 'small a portion of the ribbon 7, and clearly indicates'the preferred grain structure, that is,

'the flattened granules are rooted in the body of the ribbon, are disposed edgewise at'right' anglesto the face of the ribbon, and are cut transversely along the face of the ribbon. The, flattened granules are also disposed longitudinally of the ribbon, which arrangement, combined with their position normal to the face of the ribbon, makes the ribbon structurally strong both against lengthwise pull and against abrasion, as well as insur nally ing the retaining of" an accurate gauge in thicknem.

It will be understood, however, that the invention isnot limited to cork having this particularstructure, since it may be.desir able, in certain instances, to modify the grain structure to suit the particular use to which the ribbon is to be put.

While-I have illustrated and described the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrated form, but may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claimz' j 1. An artificial cork 'ribboncut from a block of compressed artificial cork, the ribbon being longer than the block from which it is cut and having the flattened cork granribbon.

'2. A ribbon ofcompressed artificial cork" having the flattened granules thereof disules disposed at an angle to the face of the posed at an angle to the face of the ribbon.

method of forming an artificial cork'ribbon, the steps consisting in forming a disk of compressed artificial cork wherein the flattened cork granules are disposed at a substantial angle'to the peripheral face of the disk, and cutting the'ribbon from the peripheral face of the disk.

' 6. In the method offorming an artificial cork ribbon, the steps consisting in formin a flat disk of compressed artificial c'orl wherein, the planes of compression are substantially parallel to the flat face. of the the ribbon from the pedisk, and cuttin ripheral face of t e disk. 7

7. In'the method of forming an artificial cork ribbon, the stepsconsis ting in compress- I ing the artificial cork to form a slab, cutting a disk from the slab, so that the planes of compression are substantially parallel to a flat face of the disk, and cutting a ribbon from the peripheral face of the disk.

In testimony whereof I. have hereunto set my hand.

HERMAN F. BUSCH. 

